Using Android Tablets to develop handwriting skills: A case study

• Main Authors: Miguel Candeias, Maria Gentil A.D. Reis, Joaquim Escola, Manuel J.C.S. Reis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-12-01
• Series: Heliyon
• Subjects: Education; Improving classroom teaching; Interactive learning environments; Evaluation methodologies; Architectures for educational technology systems; Elementary education
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844019366290

A system to support the teaching and learning of handwriting skills is proposed. It is composed of two components: the hardware component (e.g., Android Tablet); and the software component. The software component as two modules: the server and the client. A teacher chooses what exercises/games a child should do directly in the Android table or using the server, from the existing ones in the system. A child does the exercises/games by logging into the system in the Android Tablet. Automatic feedback about the correctness of the answers is provided by the system. Data (number of tries, time spent, etc.) are automatically grabbed and processed to be presented to the teachers and parents. Registered parents can see the results and follow their children' s “academic life”, by logging into the server side of the system. We found a significant improvement in the development of handwriting skills in the children throughout the academic year, and improvements were also more present when comparing children who had have contact with the system with children who did not have this contact. Educators, children, School Boards, City Town Hall and the Educational Community are unanimous in stating that the implementation of this system was a real success.